


The past in its proper place

by Nary



Category: Diablotin
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 19:23:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17710115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: Irrez tended to think that his war experiences were, for the most part anyway, behind him.  But that didn't mean everything always stayed properly in the past where it belonged.





	The past in its proper place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Longpig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longpig/gifts).



Irrez tended to think that his war experiences were, for the most part anyway, behind him. He had served a country that wasn't yet his in order to gain the right to remain there, to become a citizen of a place that didn't want him and start a new life there. It had been a means to an end, that was all. He had gained everything he wanted out of it and more. 

But that didn't mean everything always stayed properly in the past where it belonged. And he didn't mean the Merchant's occasional visits, just the more mundane horrors of having been through a war. He woke up on this particular night with screams ringing in his ears, his heart hammering and mind flooded with memories that he couldn't shove back into their boxes fast enough. The way it sounded in the instant before a bomb went off, the hollow thud of an explosive landing somewhere nearby, and the split second during which it was too late to run and all you could do was throw yourself down in the mud and hope. 

He realized when B'razvi jolted awake and looked at him with bewilderment that the scream might have been out loud. He tried to breathe normally, but all that came out were ragged gasps, and his side of the bed felt like it was soaked in cold, acrid sweat.

B'razvi seemed to understand what was going on, after his initial shock. He didn't need Irrez to explain what had troubled him - that was one of his finer qualities. That and his silence. He didn't speak as he gathered Irrez into his arms and stroked his hair, but he made a soft, wordless shushing sound that was remarkably soothing. Gradually, Irrez felt his pulse slow down, the sour rush of panic fade away. The past went back into its proper place. He was here, now, in the bedroom they shared, in the shop they had built together, in the city they had paid for their place in with black blood. 

"It's alright," he murmured, as much to himself as to B'razvi. His companion kept on holding him anyway, until eventually they were both able to calm down enough to go back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
